The Color Green: My Favorite Shade of Happy

Have you ever considered why your favorite color is your favorite color? Sure, some people have no problem explaining why they like the color they do. "Black represents the darkness of my inner turmoil." "Yellow is like sunshine and always brightens my day!" "Pink makes me feel so like such a girl." The local goth chick, the annoyingly cheerful girl next door, and your best buddy Tom might all know why they love the colors they do, but for many of us the reasons are probably a bit more subtle.

My favorite color is green. More specifically it is a nice dark forest green. To be honest, I never gave the reason for this much thought until today. While out running errands today I saw a pale green Ford Maverick making a turn and was immediately reminded of the third family car I can remember, a dark green Ford Maverick that at the time I thought was the greatest car ever.

I had to think for a moment... Did I love the Maverick in part because it was dark green or did I start to like green because I thought the Maverick was cool? When I thought for a moment, I remembered wanting my room painted green years before we had the Maverick so I decided it was my love of green that influenced my affection for the car rather than vice versa. But that really did not tell me why I had chosen green as my favorite color, apparently at a very young age. What was it about this glorious hue that won it a special place in my heart?

I remember as a youngster loving the garden my father always grew in our backyard. Tall vines of butter beans, bushy tomato plants, a couple of rows of corn, and even a small patch of watermelons. Splashes of red tomatoes and yellow blossoms heralding the inevitable arrival of tasty melons added a little variety but by and large the color of the garden was, of course, green. I loved the outdoors and looking at scenery full of trees even as a child. And I was almost certainly influenced by my mom's love of green. She matched my dad's green thumb with her colorful flower beds that lined the front of our house but always rested in their lovely bed of green.

Whatever was the catalyst for my infatuation with the color of envy, once I had made that choise it seemed to infiltrate almost all aspects of my life. I remember my elementary school wardrobe leaned heavily toward the emerald spectrum with green corduroy slacks and matching green shirts being the majority of my school attire. I had green pajamas, green sneakers, green notebooks, green bedsheets, and, of course, those green walls I mentioned. Once I had chosen my personal color scheme, everything had to fit.

Even today, green still plays an important part in my adult life. I do not wear green slacks anymore, but my favorite bum-around-the-house shorts are green. My laptop is green and I even paid an extra $40 for that benefit. I still love the beauty of a forest full of trees and dread the changing seasons when green fades away from the trees. Indeed, one thing I like most about living in North Carolina if the abundance of pine tree that hold onto their thin green needle-like leaves year round.

In the end I guess I do not care why I have chosen green as my favorite color so long as it brings my attention to the beauty of the world. And it does that very well, especially when it comes to the beauty of nature. A leafy tree casting a majestic shadow across a green field with touches of red, yellow, purple, and countless other colors catches my attention every time. Then I can see the flowers, birds, butterflies and countless other miracles that make up this exquisite panorama.

So whatever your favorite color might be, take a moment each day to enjoy the beauty not only of that color, but the multitude of hues that surround it. We are blessed with the ability to observe these colors and probably almost always take this gift for granted. Imagine for a moment if you did not have this beauty surrounding you. Imagine a world without color if you can. Not a pretty sight, is it? Now open your eyes and enjoy your day!